Second Letter to Timothy is a book of the Pastoral Epistles centered on guarding the deposit of faith, enduring suffering, preaching the word, and handing teaching on to faithful ministers.[1]
Place in the Catholic canon
Second Letter to Timothy is received by the Catholic Church as inspired and canonical Sacred Scripture.
Within the canon, the book belongs to the Pastoral Epistles. Its proper meaning is read within the unity of the whole Bible, the Church's living Tradition, and the coherence of revealed truth.
Content and theology
The book principally treats guarding the deposit of faith, enduring suffering, preaching the word, and handing teaching on to faithful ministers. Its historical setting, literary forms, and compositional history are proper subjects of disciplined scholarship; no disputed modern authorship theory is itself an article of Catholic faith.
Catholic reading
The Church receives the book as the word of God in human words. Its literal sense grounds authentic spiritual and typological readings, and its fullest Christian interpretation is governed by the revelation of the Father in Jesus Christ without erasing Israel, the human author's meaning, or salvation history.[2]
References
- 1.USCCB Bible: Second Letter to Timothy — Approved biblical text, introduction, and study notes
- 2.Dei Verbum — Dogmatic constitution on revelation, inspiration, and interpretation